Duana’s Best Dressed at the Globes: Julia In A White Shirt

I loved it. I’m not even apologetic or scared of the response or trying to stir sh*t. I genuinely loved it.

Julia Roberts knows this game like the back of her hand, and she’s never pretended otherwise. She’s never pretended that she is, or even was, a naïve innocent who doesn’t know how to play the game. She knows. She comes and she knows.

And Julia Roberts knows that because she’s showing up to this awards shows and it’s been years since she’s done so and it’s the Globes and everything’s in close-up because that ballroom is so small, and because she doesn’t apologize for the fact that she’s Julia Roberts…

…she knows the camera will cut to her constantly. We got more than a few Julia smiles lighting us up on our way to break. Lainey screams about the control room not getting the shots they needed of Taylor Swift but it might have been because they were so ready to cut to Julia. Julia laughing. Julia looking thoughtful. Julia nudging Meryl as they share an inside thought. Don’t tell me those aren’t choreographed. Of course they are.

And so, knowing that her face is out there for the taking for two hours, she chose to frame it classically, with the crisp white shirt against her face and her hair swept up and out of the way.

I know you think I’m crazy – but how can you be mad about it? There’s the idea, I guess, that says “oh, it’s not formal enough” but who says formal needs to be strapless? Or arms encased in lace? Julia is a pro – she knows what you need and she’ll get it for you – it’s just that in the process, she’s going to make her own rules. Black and White, Dolce&Gabbana. On paper, it’s quite simple (and as Lainey points out, reminds us of her Oscar dress). She knows exactly what she’s doing.

And…if she’s going to lose the whole season to Jennifer Lawrence – and I’m not sure it’s a done deal but I could see how it could be - well, then she definitely wants to be seen as being on the side of understated, anyway.